Bahrain Fails In Bid To Claim State Immunity Over Alleged Hacking Of Dissidents

The Bahrain government faces another law suit over the alleged hacking of two dissidents, after the High Court in London ruled that it could not claim state immunity in the case.

In a ruling issued by Mr Justice Julian Knowles this morning, the court said the claimants, Saeed Shehabi and Moosa Mohammed, had shown “on a balance of probabilities that they suffered psychiatric injury as a consequence of their computers being infected, and that their claims, accordingly, fall within the exception to immunity.”

Shehabi and Mohammed have accused the Bahraini government of hacking their personal computers using FinSpy surveillance software at some point in September 2011.

The spyware is produced by the UK/German Gamma Group and can be used to access documents, emails and messages, view web browsing history and conduct live surveillance through the computer’s camera and microphone.

A hearing was held in February 2022 to decide whether the case could go ahead, leading to today’s decision.

“This ruling marks a huge victory,” said Mohammed. “This decision demonstrates that we can prevail in our fight for justice and that our voices will not be muzzled by the Bahraini regime’s reprisals or intimidation.”

Similar arguments have prevailed in other cases. In August last year, Ghanem Al-Masarir was given permission by the High Court in London to proceed with his claim against Saudi Arabia for its alleged use of Pegasus spyware to infiltrate his cell phone. Other cases involving the alleged use of spyware by Gulf governments include that of Bahraini dissident Yusuf Al-Jamri and British-Jordanian activist Azzam Tamimi.

In 2014, Shehabi and Mohammed were alerted by friends and family members that they had been named as targets for Bahrain’s spyware programme. In August of that year, a human rights group called Bahrain Watch published an article which named the people seemingly targeted by Bahrain, based on its analysis of a leaked batch of documents.

“Hacking into my computers caused myself and many other victims like me severe mental distress and may have harmed many others whose information was compromised,” said Shehabi, following the High Court verdict. “There needs to be clearer consensus over the criminality of transnational hacking in international law and an end to commercial hacking companies who are enabling it.”

Shehabi and Mohammed were represented by law firm Leigh Day and supported by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD). Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of (BIRD) welcomed the High Court decision, saying “This ruling ensures Bahrain will no longer be able to hide behind state immunity and will now face accountability for their actions.”

Ida Aduwa, a solicitor at Leigh Day, said the case should now move forward to a trial.

Shehabi is a leader of the Bahrain Freedom Movement and founder of Bahraini political party Al-Wefaq. He has lived in the UK since 1973 and was granted British citizenship in 2002.

Mohammed is a human rights activist; his lawyers say he was repeatedly arrested, detained, tortured and mistreated by the Bahraini police and, as a result, fled to the UK in 2006; he has since been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. He hit the headlines in 2019 when he climbed on to the roof of the Bahrain Embassy in London to protest – police had to force their way into the building to protect him from an alleged assault by embassy staff. Mohammed was later convicted of trespassing.